The city of Boulder is considering what its energy future will look like. The goal it to acquire "clean, local and reliable" energy in the future, and one voter-approved option is to start a municipal utility. For more information on the history of this decision, click here.

Former Longmont firefighter Lynn Huff dies hiking in Maui

Times-Call staff and wire reports

Posted:
02/04/2013 04:45:08 PM MST

Updated:
02/04/2013 05:18:52 PM MST

Retired Longmont fire division chief Lynn Huff, right, died Saturday during a hiking accident in Maui, Hawaii. Huff is pictured in this photo next to his wife, Barbara. The photo ran along with a 40th wedding anniversary announcement published this June in the Boulder Daily Camera. (File photo )

WAILUKU, Hawaii -- A retired Longmont firefighter and Boulder resident died Saturday while hiking a trail on Maui, police said Monday.

According to The Maui News, the Maui Police Department said in a news release that officers were called to the scene and hiked about a mile down the trail toward the springs, where they met up with Huff's wife, who showed them where her husband fell. Fire and emergency medical personnel also responded. Police reported that Huff had fallen 20 to 25 feet. It had been raining throughout the past week and the ground where he fell to his death was saturated, police said.

Huff retired in 2010 as a division chief after 32 years with the Longmont Fire Department. Before joining the Longmont department in 1978, Huff had spent four years with the Cherryvale Fire Protection District, now called the Rocky Mountain Fire District. Huff remained a volunteer firefighter with the district, which serves parts of Boulder and Jefferson counties.

Huff was a multiple Public Safety Awards winner and for a time in the mid-2000s served as interim manager of Longmont's Emergency Communications Center.

His retirement came just before his wife, Barbara, retired after 25 years with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

An announcement of the couple's 40th wedding anniversary that was published last June in the Boulder Daily Camera noted that the couple "enjoy hiking, camping, sailing, golf, fishing and travel."

According to the announcement, the couple married May 31, 1972, in Phoenix, Ariz. and then moved to Boulder in 1973 to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. They have a son, Christopher, of Westminster, and a granddaughter, Kendall Rose.

Assistant Longmont fire chief Rick Vandervelde called Huff "a great mentor" and said that he touched many lives across the Front Range and nationally.

"I think everybody in the department would say they were better because they had worked with him. ... He took care of people on the job and off the job," he said.

He also praised Huff for his ability to stay clam in a chaotic situation.

Ballot language:
In November, Boulder voters narrowly approved two ballot issues related to starting a municipal utility: 2B and 2C. You can read the full text of the ballot language on the city's website.

Issue 2B asked voters to increase the existing utility occupation tax by up to $1.9 million a year. The money from the tax, which will be collected from customers by Xcel Energy, will be used by the city to cover the costs of moving forward with forming a municipal utility, such as more studies and legal fees.

Issue 2C asked voters for permission to actually form a municipal utility. The language allows the city to sell the necessary bonds to take over the current system from Xcel, but it states that the city may only move forward with forming a municipal utility if it can start the utility with rates that are the same or cheaper than Xcel's.

Helpful Links:City of Boulder: This is where the city is aggregating all of its documents, meeting information and updates on Boulder s energy future: bouldercolorado.gov/energyfuture

RenewablesYes: This website is run by the group of volunteers that lobbied local voters to pass a utility occupation tax in November to replace the expiring franchise fee from Xcel Energy. Now, the group is advocating for the city to secure a cleaner, more local energy supply. renewablesyes.org

Xcel Energy: Xcel is the largest utility in Colorado, and it currently provides electricity to Boulder. The city s 20-year franchise agreement with Xcel expired at the end of 2010. xcelenergy.com

Boulder Smart Energy Coalition: A citizen group that supports the city's general energy goals but has concerns about the risks involved with starting a municipal utility. bouldersec.com

SmartGridCity: Xcel Energy has installed a smart grid in Boulder. This web site provides more information on that initiative. smartgridcity.xcelenergy.com

Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities: This Colorado Springs-based group represents the state s 29 municipal utilities, which include utilities based in Lyons and Longmont. coloradopublicpower.org